Shiloh had final vote on items forwarded to Monday’s Regular Board meeting

Village of Shiloh Board of Trustees held it’s last Committee at Large meeting for the month on Monday, Feb. 22. In foreground is Village Administrator John Marquart making recommendations to the board. Left to right, Trustees Mark Kurtz, Kurt Burrelsman, Colleen Powers, Village Attorney Terry Bruckert and Mayor Jim Vernier. Robyn L. Kirschrkirsch@bnd.com

Village of Shiloh Board of Trustees held it’s last Committee at Large meeting for the month on Monday, Feb. 22. In foreground is Village Administrator John Marquart making recommendations to the board. Left to right, Trustees Mark Kurtz, Kurt Burrelsman, Colleen Powers, Village Attorney Terry Bruckert and Mayor Jim Vernier. Robyn L. Kirschrkirsch@bnd.com

Every year Shiloh Police Chief Jim Stover makes an annual report of the crime statistics for the village, as a courtesy to the board.

The range of statistical analysis is from January to December 2014 and January to December 2015.

Although there were some decreases in calls for service in 22 categories, there were many increases. The total number of calls for service in Shiloh escalated a little under 3 percent, which Stover said isn’t ideal, but it’s not bad, and it makes sense for a village that continues to grow with new construction.

Here’s the breakdown:

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From 2014, in the 22 categories, there were a total of 5,941 calls for service, but overall for the department there were 10,259 calls for service. In 2015, in the 22 categories, there were a total of 6,115. So for the overall glance of all calls for service by Shiloh police, there was a 10.75 percent rise.

“The list I give you, (the 22 categories) are basically our high profile (complaints - calls),” Stover said. “In 2010 we had 7, 859 calls for service to compared to 2015 11, 362, so we’ve gone up 44 percent for our calls of service in five years.”

“Deceptive practices went from 94 to 108, and about 90 of those are probably people filing fraudulent income tax returns using others’ social security numbers — it’s a big problem in the village and in other communities,” Shiloh Mayor Jim Vernier said.

Stover responded with, “It was a huge problem last year, but this year it doesn’t seem to as bad,” Stover said. “Last year during tax season we were taking reports three or four a day, but it’s a lot better this year.”

“Battery went down from 32 for 2014 to 25 last year,” Public Safety Committee Chairman Greg O’Neil said. “Burglary is down from 99 to 89. And, no home invasions in the last two years. Theft over $300 went down also from 41 to 31, and vehicle burglary went from 56 to 51.”

Other areas that decreased in the number of calls for service were animal complaints went from 170 in 2014 to 154 in 2015. Calls for service for alarms lowered from 522 to 455. Lastly, criminal damage and trespassing decreased by two with 99 in 2014 and 97 in 2015.

Stover responded to inquiries from trustees on whether the force is adequate to address any increasing crimes in tandem with the population growth.

“I think we’re right where we need to be to be comfortable for now, but until we see the impact of the new Memorial Hospital-East on Cross Street and the other growth in our community next year, it may be a different matter,” Stover said. “I’ve submitted a budget for this coming fiscal year and I think the administrator (Marquart) will be getting that out in about a month or so, but yes I budgeted for a new officer for next year because I think the hospital is going to have a big impact.”

On a lighter note, O’Neil cracked a joke that was well received by attendees and the board when stating that according to the graphs provided by Stover, “the highest calls per day are on Tuesday’s and Friday’s, so stay home.”

Green Mount Crossing Business District revise

Green Mount Crossing Business District fiscal agent agreement was revised to reflect the chain of exchange of funds between the village, State of Illinois and the recently created business district.

“We are using UMB Bank to receive funds from the village, unless we can get direct deposited from the State to our account at UMB, and then UMB will hold the funds and upon the village’s submission to them of the appropriate reimbursement documentation, then they will send funds to Green Mount Crossing LLC for the approved expenses,” John Marquart, village administrator, said. “They’re going to charge us $1,200 on an annual basis, which is not a lot, and a one-time fee of $750 for their lawyers to take a look at it.”

Village Attorney Terry Bruckert said this approval is nothing more than procedural.

Marquart concurred and, said he and Bruckert felt the board “should take a look at this because it was referenced in all of the agreements that lead up to the approval of the business district, and it’s changed a little bit, not from the substantive standpoint, but more a procedural standpoint, in terms of how things will flow, and getting the money from the State to us to them and then to Green Mount Crossing LLC.”

As a fiscal agent, all UMB Bank is really doing is holding onto the money, and giving quarterly statements reflecting quarterly distributions if they occur, but, nothing on a monthly basis, according to Bruckert.

The changes in the fiscal agent agreement do not affect the business district, the project itself or the project agreement, Marquart said.

“The changes are primarily word-smithing and those changes better detail the relationship between the parties for the receipt and distribution of funds,” Marquart said.

Kurtz voted in opposition, as he always has with any agenda items that require board approval.

Yorktown Golf Course

Yorktown Golf Course management agreement was approved between the village and SKB LLC for another year of oversight and management of the golf course, including maintenance, operation and employees.

SKB will hire, fire and manage employees and they will not be employees of the village, the contract states. Scott Barkhaus is the owner of SKB, and has been a long time manager at the course, which Vernier said should stay that way for now.

“SKB has, in my opinion, done a great job in managing the course over the past year. From getting a new owner in late December 2014, operating under different organizational circumstances, going through a total renovation of the club house, having more formalized reporting issues, I believe things have gone remarkably well,” Marquart told the board.

Marquart said the village recently signed on with Golf Now, an online tee time, marketing and golf course promotional firm that is owned by the Golf Channel and NBC Sports.

“There is no cost to the village for the services Golf Now will provide,” Marquart said. “This association will allow more opportunity to attract additional golfers, allow the staff to send out email messages advertising open tee times.”

When the club house renovations are complete, Golf Now will install the software and train the course staff.

“This will no doubt enhance the visibility of Yorktown and bring out more golfers,” Marquart said.

If this agreement is passed, the village agrees to pay SKB LLC an annual amount of $99,700, payable in installments at the same time that employees of the village are typically paid. Also stipulated, SKB will continue to provide financial records of the golf course on a monthly basis on or before the day 10 of each month for the preceding month.

“I think it’s pretty darn good bargain. He knows what he’s doing, and has been for a long while,” Vernier said. “Last year, we had a terrible year, it rained on and on, and we still came in close to breaking even with operations, not including the capital improvements we made — I don’t think that’s a bad start.”

Trustee Kurt Burrelsman asked a lot of questions, and commented he’d like to see a more detailed business budget and plan.

“We have a monthly report of their financial (activity), and it’s listed in the treasurer’s report,” Boker said. “It wasn’t a real detailed budget, but it’s here.”

“It may be a big boom to the village, but it sounds too good to be true,” Burrelsman said.

Trustee Mark Kurtz was the only dissenting vote.

Do you smell rotten eggs?

Hydrogen sulfide is being blamed for Shiloh’s wastewater to smell like rotten eggs, Village Engineer Norm Etling said on Tuesday.

Since 1995, the village has been battling hydrogen sulfide, which village officials say is eating its infrastructure.

The latest smell was detected between Main Street and Shiloh Heights Drive.

The village recently hired by Thouvenot Wade & Moerchen Inc. (TWM) to find the cause of the odor..

“We have been receiving various calls in that area since at least 1995, mostly, spotty depending on barometric pressure, temperature differentials and flows,” Etling said. “At one time there was a chemical drip installed in the upstream lift station which was removed because of damage to the adjoining valve vault equipment.”

Streets and Sanitary Sewers Committee Chairman Kurt Burrelsman said after reading the report issued by TWM detailing what’s causing the odor, “it looks to me we need to be mitigating that.”

“That’s why with the lift stations, when we terminate into a gravity man hole, we have those lined or we have additives put in, but if you read the report and look at the lift station (and the flow reads) five, and then you go into the line and it’s 100, it pretty well tells you what’s happening in that force main — it’s not pumping enough,” he said.

Looking at the havoc done by the corrosive nature of hydrogen sulfide and analyzing what future loads will be, Etling said the village needs to move to phase II and investigating injecting Oxygen into it because the last time we put a chemical in, it ate up some of the mechanics of the lift stations. ”

Etling said in 1995 or 1996 is when the village added the chemicals, which TWM Project Manager Todd Peek said was ferric sulfate. It was added to the Archview lift station wastewater to react with the hydrogen sulfide gas to minimize hydrogen sulfide corrosion.

“The system had the detriment of changing the pH and alkalinity of the wastewater and led to different types of corrosion, so the village abandoned it,” Peek said.

Etling said development saturation has not lent itself to additional sanitary flows.

“The current proposal is to inject oxygen into the system which is safer,” he said.

The cost of phase II will be $4,200. Peek made recommendations to the village based on reports of a gas detector used to measure the hydrogen sulfide levels on Nov. 4, 2015.

On Nov. 10, 2015, another portion of the collection system that sends flow to the Church Street lift station was investigated.

“The hydrogen sulfide reading in the wet well of the Archview lift station was between 5 and 6 ppm. When we proceeded to the manhole on Eden Park Boulevard where the force main from Archview lift station discharges, the hydrogen sulfide readings spiked to over 100 ppm and rose to as high as 150, which are far above the safe level,” Peek wrote in a letter to Etling dated Jan. 18, 2016.

Hydrogen sulfide is a chemical compound that’s a colorless gas. It is heavier than air, very poisonous, corrosive, flammable and explosive. Oxygen is harmless in comparison.

“Smelling like rotten eggs is a good description of the smell of hydrogen sulfide, which TWM found was the culprit causing the foul odor,” Etling said.

Archview lift station is over 5,500 feet long, and any force main that long has the potential to allow the sewage inside to go septic if it sits for too long, Peek said.

“...It is possible that the sewage in the force main is more than a day old before it is discharged into the manhole on Eden Park Boulevard,” Peek said. “During this time, the sewage may go septic and produce hydrogen sulfide gas and sulfuric acid.”

Peek pointed out that the holding time of the sewage in the Archview lift station contributes to the main source of the odor complaints on Maple Street, as well as to concrete corrosion to the manholes upstream of the Church Street lift station and along Maple Street.

“Although we received a sketch proposal for the area known as the Heitman Tract, we have not received any formal applications,” Etling said. “It does not appear as though the flow to the Archview Station will significantly increase in the near future.”

▪ Charter cable franchise agreement renewal passed unanimously. Marquart informed the board the last time the renewal occurred was 50 years ago. This is a non-exclusive agreement meaning the village may allow any other cable television provider to use the village right of way and easements to provide service. The current agreement expires May 31, 2016.

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